The Israeli Defense Forces have launched an attack on vessels at Bandar Anzali, a strategic port on Iran’s Caspian Sea coast.
According to local bystander reports and Israeli media, this marks the first strike in the area since the broader US, Israeli, and Iranian conflict escalated on February 28.
Initial reports indicate the strike specifically targeted military assets rather than commercial tonnage. According to Israeli outlet i24 and CNN, more than five Iranian warships were hit during the operation.
While Israel has not formally confirmed the attack, Defense Minister Israel Katz recently warned of “significant surprises” in the ongoing conflict. This Caspian Sea strike closely follows an Israeli attack on Iran’s South Pars gas processing complex, which triggered a fierce retaliatory strike on the Ras Laffan LNG plant.
For the defense logistics sector, Bandar Anzali is widely known as a primary transit hub for weapons shipments moving between Russia and Iran.
The two nations maintain an extensive defense procurement network, frequently moving drones, missiles, and advanced weapons systems to support operations in Ukraine and the Middle East. Until this recent strike, the port had remained largely untouched, though Ukrainian forces have previously targeted Iran linked shipping in the Caspian region.